The Ministry of Justice is increasing the application fee for lasting power of attorney (LPA) in England and Wales.
The change, which will see fees rise by around 12% later this year, is subject to parliamentary approval.
Power of attorney is a legal document that allows one person (the donor) to give at least one other person (the attorney) the right to make decisions on their behalf about their health and/or finances.
Here, Which? explains what’s changing and how to make sure your application goes smoothly.
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What’s changing with LPA application fees?
The fee for registering an LPA in England and Wales will increase from £82 per LPA application to £92 per application.
There are two types of LPA in England and Wales – one for financial matters and one for health and welfare. Registering both will cost £184 once the new fees come into effect.
The higher fee will be payable for applications received by the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) from 17 November 2025.
The Ministry of Justice says that the new fee will make sure that income from LPA applications better meets the cost of delivering the services provided by OPG
If you’ve already started the application process, you may have time to register your LPA before the fees rise on 17 November.
The OPG only accepts forms via post, so you should make sure you post your application at least a few days before the deadline.
If you’ve not yet started the process, be aware that it can take a few weeks. It’s important to speak to your attorneys in advance and give them some time to consider the role and responsibilities.
It can also take a little while to prepare an LPA form, as it needs to be signed by you, a certificate provider, your attorneys and witnesses. This must be done in a strict order or the document will be void – you can find more guidance on GOV.UK.
If your pre-tax income is less than £12,000 a year you’re eligible for what’s known as ‘50% remission’, meaning you only have to pay half the registration fee. You may also be eligible for remission if you receive Universal Credit.
This is currently £41 and will go up to £46 on 17 November.
There are different systems for registering power of attorney in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Fees aren’t changing in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
In Scotland, you can register a Continuing Power of Attorney (covering property and financial affairs), a Welfare Power of Attorney (covering health and welfare matters) or a combined power of attorney which covers both health and financial matters. The registration fee is £96 per document, payable to the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland).
In Northern Ireland, the equivalent document is an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA), which only covers property and financial affairs. The fee to register an EPA is £180, payable to the Office of Care and Protection.
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Tens of thousands of PoA applications are rejected every year due to errors. Here’s how to make sure your application goes smoothly:
1. Make sure your witnesses are eligible
Both the attorney and donor must have their signature witnessed - but people often use witnesses that aren’t permitted.
For example, an attorney can’t witness the donor’s signature due to a conflict of interest.
2. Sign the form in the correct order
It is crucial that the form is signed in the correct order. The donor and their witness must sign first, followed by the certificate provider and then the attorneys and their witnesses.
Your application will be rejected if it's not signed properly.
3. Use full names
Make sure you provide the full and correct details for you and your attorneys. Your application might be rejected if you use initials instead of full names, or omit middle names.
4. Check it thoroughly
If your application is rejected because it contains mistakes, you’ll have three months to apply again and pay a repeat application fee of £46.
Don’t rush to get an application in before the fees change without checking it thoroughly, as the cost of re-applying will quickly cancel out the money saved in fees.
It’s worth asking a friend or relative with an eye for detail to check your application carefully.
Alternatively you can pay a solicitor to review your application or use a professional power of attorney service like Which?, who will review your application for errors.
